First Cast, FISH ON!

Pete Parsons and his family were in town for a family reunion so he and his relatives Foster and Bob planned a Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark this morning.  We left the Atlantic Seafood dock at 7:30 this morning with overcast skies and a brisk breeze.  The tide had been coming in for a couple of hours so we headed up to the docks of Lanceford Creek and anchored up-current for some easy casting to the pilings.  Pete's Uncle Foster was the first to get a live shrimp in the water and as he played the line out to allow his bait to drift to the pilings and, FISH ON!  The other guys hadn't had a chance to get their rods unlimbered and Foster was playing a hard-fighting Redfish to the waiting net and pictures.  We fished the docks and  had few bites after that and the SE wind was picking up so we headed to the shelter of Tiger Island and anchored in a good spot to present our baits.  Foster must have had a "hot" rod early because he soon boated a larger SeaTrout then Bob got in on the action by catching Trout and we also picked up a nice Flounder to complete our "Inshore Slam".  We moved on up to Jolley River where Bob hooked up and fought some hard jumping Ladyfish then the trio added a couple of more Trout.  We ended the day fishing a larger creek where Foster heated up his rod again, boating keeper sized Trout, one after another.  Bob had Trout, too, then Pete hooked up with a fish that caused his reel to scream and the fight was on!  Pete fought the fish expertly and soon tired the 2 1/2'+ Shark and we tossed it in to the boat for pictures. Then Pete added another Trout to wrap things up,  and we headed in, counting it as another great day to be on the water!

The Gato Roared!

I had the pleasure of fishing again this morning with Pinson and Tina Neal and their two kids P4 and Landon.  We had seen that severe thunderstorms were due to hit the area around noon so we planned to leave the Fernandina Beach Marina at 7am, just after the tide had peaked and started out.  We headed The Anglers Mark up Lanceford creek to fish the docks with live shrimp under floats.  I noted that the wind hadn't started yet and it was really nice conditions.  Tina started things off right by hooking up with a hard fighting keeper sized 18" Trout and brought it to the boat expertly.  P4 did the same, hooking and catching a nice Trout.  We moved on to another dock and it turned out to be the right move as all anglers began to catch feisty Redfish after Redfish, boating about 7-8 fish in all in about an hour.  Both Landon and Pinson hooked up for a "double" Redfish, causing Landon to exclaim, "let the Gato Roar!"  Then Pinson tossed a quarter ounce jig with shrimp out deeper and soon had his rod bent with something bigger than the earlier Reds.  He played the fish perfectly, pulling it out from around the pilings and landed a 20" slot Redfish.  The wind was picking up so we headed to Tiger Island but it offered no shelter and we had no bites.  Our next stop was Jolley River  where P4 got a small shark to the boat, but we had no other real bites after that.  We caught some finger mullet and made one more stop at a creek runout where Tina added to the box another keeper sized Trout caught on one of the finger mullet fished deep on a jig and with that, we wrapped up the day, counting it as another great day to be out on the water.

Gator Trout?

Josh Jenette was in town with his grandparents, visiting Amelia Island from Kentucky, and took in an Amelia Island light tackle fishing trip on The Anglers Mark yesterday afternoon.  We left the Atlantic Seafood dock with some brisk winds out of the southeast so we headed to Tiger Island in hopes that it would shield the wind, and it did!  Josh caught a nice Redfish before we ventured back in to the wind to fish the outside of Tiger where we came across a nice school of Sheepshead feeding near shore around the oyster beds.  We shortened our leaders so that our live shrimp would float over the oysters, but we couldn't get the Sheeps to eat!  Our next stop was up in Jolley River and it wasn't long before Josh was reeling in Trout after Trout, then he had a good hookup and a nice battle with a 2' long Shark!  He caught a couple more shark and a few more Trout and nice Whiting then we headed back to Tiger Island to catch the  first of the outgoing tide.  It was a good move because Josh was a able to catch a couple of  keeper sized Trout for his Grandparents dinner.  We had almost decided to call it a day when a "nibbler" took our float down unimpressively, then the rod bent over and the line ripped out!  FISH ON!  We both took turns battling this monster and after a good battle we boated a huge 27"  7lb Gator Trout!  Wow, what a fish!  That helped wrap up another great day to be on the water!

Manatee Sighting and Big Shark

Pinson and Tina Neal were visiting Amelia Island from Virigina and took in an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip yesterday on The Anglers Mark with their two kids P4 and Landon.  We left the Sawpit Creek boat ramp at 7am and headed up the Nassau River to make our first stop at Spanish Drop where Tina started the catching off by hooking up with a nice Seatrout.  Later her line began to rip out and she had a fight on her hands!  She played the fish perfectly and we soon brought to the boat a nice 3' Shark for pictures and release.  Our next stop was Bubblegum Reef where Pinson caught a feisty Redfish.  The wind had picked up so we moved on to Broward Island and Pinson picked up a fat Seatrout.  The tide just wasn't right at Broward and after a short run we were fishing the mouth of Jackstaff, catching Seatrout.  Landon joined in to get things rolling with a Trout catch then P4 heated up the action, catching Trout after Trout. While anchored, we were all startled when a huge Manatee rolled out of the water, cruising rapidly up the creek!  We ended the day with a "double" hookup of trout, and counted it as another great day to be out on the water!

Pleasant Slams

I fished with the William Pleasant family Monday, doing a morning trip then taking a break to follow up with a late afternoon trip.  Visiting Amelia Island from North Carolina, William and his two sons, Ben and Alex, met me at the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early and we pointed The Anglers Mark up the intercoastal to the mouth of Jackstaff where the anglers soon began to pick up Redfish and Trout on their jig/shrimp combo.  The tide was still going out and the oyster beds were exposed with the water temperature at around 77 degrees.  We fished the area for an hour or so and Ben, who already had boated a Trout and Red, hooked up and caught a nice Flounder, completing his Inshore Slam.  William and Alex both came close on their own, but combined to complete a Slam of their own.  William had an 11 spot Redfish that would have been a "money fish" in the Jacksonville Redfish Spot Tournament.   We fished briefly at Bubblegum Reef where Ben picked up another Red then we headed to Broward Island and as soon as the tide changed to come back in the anglers were catching Reds and Trout.  Later that afternoon the trio added some help when William's wife, Shannon, decided to join us.  We started at the docks of Lanceford.  The wind had picked up and the tide still had not started back out so we headed to the shelter of Tiger Island where Shannon contributed by hooking up and expertly playing a couple of keeper sized Trout.  We caught a few more Trout there then headed up to Jolley River where Ben caught a big shark, then a couple of more keeper sized Trout.  Alex caught his shark, too!  After a day of fishing, we headed in, counting it as another great day to be on the water!

Call'in His Shots

Libby Wilkes had her daughter Margaret and her grandson Will visiting Amelia Island and wanted to take in some backcountry fishing on The Anglers Mark today.  We left the Atlantic Seafood boat ramp at 7:30am and headed up to fish the banks of Tiger Island as the tide started back in.  It wasn't long before Will had a hookup and was soon reeling in a nice Redfish.  As we trolled the log-strewn bank he caught a couple more Reds and a fat SeaTrout.  We eventually moved on and ran up to the Jolley River where I started trolling the exposed oyster banks.  Will had just said he sure would like to catch a shark when BOOM!  Fish On! and his line was ripping out, heading up river!  Will fought the fish expertly and went around and around the boat with the Finns Braided Line keeping the fish under control.  The catch became a team effort and we soon netted the Shark for pictures and release.  What a fish!  We continued on up the bank, fished a little, moved on to another creek where Will caught two more Sharks.  After a tour of Cumberland Island and Fort Clinch we called it a day, another great one to be out on the water!

4 Times Around the Boat!

Roger Edmiston, his wife Laura and their son Noah were visiting Amelia Island and took in a backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark.  We left the Atlantic Seafood dock yesterday afternoon and made our first stop on the banks of Tiger Island, but had no bites!  We move on up to the Jolley River and anchored at a nice runout where Noah hooked up with a Big fish;  he fought the nice Trout to the net and we measured it to 20"!  We caught a few more Trout at that spot then moved on up the river to Snook Creek where Roger caught a nice Redfish, Noah caught a couple of more Trout, then FISH ON!  Noah's FINS Braided Line was ripping out, but he held on and the fight was on.  His mother, Laura pitched in and the two fought this big fish around the boat, not once, not twice, but FOUR times!  Roger and I were getting out of the way as they went 'round and 'round but soon the duo subdued the beast and we used the net to toss this 3'+ Shark into the boat for pictures.  Boy, what a fight!  We  eventually moved on to Tiger Island and picked up a few more Trout, then headed in, counting it as another great day to be on the water!

Where's My Bobber?

Lisa Senecal was visiting Amelia Island with her sons Riley and Noah and took in an Amelia Island backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark.  We left the Sawpit Creek boat ramp early and headed up the Nassau River to make our first stop at the log strewn banks of Broward Island.  The Lisa and the boys were pitching a jig and shrimp combo as the tide started in and it wasn't long before Riley hooked up to a large Seatrout. He played the fish expertly to the net.  He caught a couple of more Trout then Lisa and Noah got in on the action by catching a nice Redfish.  Noah soon found that he could toss a live shrimp under a float to the bank and it soon would disappear prompting him to exclaim "Where's my bobber?!"  He caught a few more Trout using this method!  We eventually ran to Bubblegum Reef but had no bites so we motored through Jackstaff to it's entrance where Lisa caught and fought a Shark to the boat.  Riley completed an "Inshore Slam" by catching a Flounder then the anglers wrapped the day up by catching a whole slew of SeaTrout.  We headed in counting it as another great day to be out on the water!

SeaTrout Bite Picking Up

Andy and Melanie Berlin and their two boys, Ben and Daniel, were visiting Amelia Island with their from Maryland and took in a great backcountry fishing trip on The Anglers Mark this past week.  We left the Atlantic Seafood dock for an afternoon trip and headed up to the Jolley River to fish an outgoing tide with jigs and shrimp.  Ben started the catching off by catching some nice Redfish then Melanie and Daniel teamed up to pull in a Redfish, also.  We moved on up the river to a nice creek where Andy picked up some Red's and Ben hauled in a large keeper sized Trout.  We cruised Cumberland Island to view some wild horses, took a short break at Dee Dee Bartels Boat Ramp, tried our luck in Eagans Creek, then headed to the docks of Lanceford Creek to catch the first of an incoming tide.  This paid off and the group ended a great day on the water by catching few more Redfish and Trout.

Spanish Mack in the Back (country)!

Rick Echols along with his wife Chris and their two kids Ryan and Emily were visiting Amelia Island from Raleigh, NC and decided to take a fishing/boat tour on The Anglers Mark today.  Rick, Ryan and myself left the Atlantic Seafood dock this morning at 7:30am and headed up to Jolley River with a tide that was coming in and already covering the oyster beds.  We started trolling the bank with the anglers tossing their live shrimp up to the marsh grass;  each had a few bites then Ryan's float disappeared and his rod bent and the fight was on! The FINS Windtamer Braided line stood firm and he fought the fish like a pro and we were soon trying to corral a hard lunging Spanish Mackerel!  I was real surprised because I haven't had a Spanish Mackerel up in Jolley and we didn't have a wire leader, just one of fluorocarbon.  We netted the fish, took some pictures and released the brute to be caught another day.  Further up into the river Rick hooked up and we had another fight on our hands, this one turning out to be the first shark of the year.  Rick caught a smorgasbord of backwater fish, boating Trout, Blue and Whiting.  We picked the ladies up at the dock and toured Old Towne, Fort Clinch, and Cumberland Island before making one more stop where all the anglers pitched in,  Emily reeled in the "poor man's Tarpon", a Lady Fish, and Rick topped it off with a 6-spot Redfish. With that, we called it a day, another great one to be out on the water!